Outstanding Lecturer Award
The Outstanding Lecturer Award honors a full-time lecturer for excellence in teaching effectiveness and service the CSUB campus community.
Bianca Moreno, M.A., Lecturer of Communications
Ms. Bianca Moreno is a transformative educator in the Department of Communications at California State University, Bakersfield, whose unwavering commitment to student personhood has shaped an exceptional approach to teaching. By creating inclusive, engaging, and high-impact learning environments, she empowers students to find their voices, build confidence, and succeed far beyond the classroom. Her leadership and passion have poured into student journalism through advising The Runner, expanded experiential learning opportunities, secured funding and community partnerships, and guided students to earn state-level awards. A dedicated mentor and advocate, Moreno exemplifies excellence in teaching, service, and student success.
Ms. Bianca Moreno is honored to receive the 2026-2027 Outstanding Lecturer Award.
“I believe that learning extends beyond the classroom. I want my students to leave my class knowing they matter.” – Ms. Bianca Moreno
Promising New Faculty Award
The Promising New Faculty Award was established to recognize exemplary achievements in teaching, research, scholarship, creative activities, and/or service among all full-time, tenure-track faculty.
Dan Stockwell, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of English
Recognized for his approach to teaching that apprentices CSUB students into the teaching profession as they prepare to become secondary English language arts (ELA) teachers, Dr. Dan Stockwell is distinguished by his student-centered teaching and dedication to the profession of public education. Since joining CSUB in 2023, Dr. Stockwell has published several pieces advocating for secondary ELA teachers and promoting critical literacy pedagogy, including a book with Routledge, and he has presented at national and state conferences. Supported by an internal grant, Dr. Stockwell and two undergraduate research assistants are investigating the experiences of California secondary ELA teachers who implement culturally sustaining pedagogies in their classrooms.
Dr. Stockwell is deeply honored to receive the 2026–2027 Promising New Faculty Award.
To cultivate mindfulness, the late Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh encouraged us to
ask, “What am I doing?” My grateful response at California State University, Bakersfield: “Working my dream
job.” – Dr. Dan Stockwell
Jacquelyn Kegley Faculty Leadership & Service Award
The Jacquelyn Kegley Faculty Leadership and Service Award recognizes and encourages outstanding contributions to the principle and practice of shared governance and service to the community. Faculty leadership is critical to providing an educational experience of high quality and to the overall mission of CSUB.
Heidi He, DNP, Professor of Nursing
Dr. Heidi He is the Founding Director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program at California State University, Bakersfield. Under her leadership, CSUB launched its DNP program, the second doctoral program in the university’s history. Dr. He has secured more than $10 million in external grant funding to strengthen undergraduate and graduate nursing education, expand workforce development initiatives, and enhance student readiness for practice through innovative simulation-based education. Her leadership has fostered a robust simulation program, advanced nursing education, strengthened community partnerships, and addressed critical healthcare workforce needs across the region. Dr. He is committed to empowering others through innovation, mentorship, and inclusive leadership.
Dr. He is honored to receive the 2026–2027 Jacquelyn Kegley Faculty Leadership and Service Award.
“Great leadership is not about having all the answers; it's about bringing together diverse voices whose unique perspectives create extraordinary solutions.” – Dr. Heidi He
Faculty Scholarship & Creative Activity Award
The Faculty Scholarship and Creative Activity Award recognizes and encourages outstanding contributions to the principle and practice of research and creative activity. Faculty research and creative activity are critical to providing a high-quality educational experience and to CSUB's overall mission.
Anthony Rathburn, Ph.D., Professor of Geology
Known for providing transformative research experiences for students, Dr. Anthony Rathburn conducts marine and environmental research and outreach around the world. Since his arrival at CSUB in 2016, he has acquired ~$3,230,000 in external grants and contracts (as PI or Co-PI), and has published 14 research manuscripts in international, peer-reviewed journals along with 19 research abstracts (many include student co-authors). His interdisciplinary research focuses on the responses of seafloor microfauna to environmental change, with applications in paleoceanography, paleontology, seafloor ecology, and marine pollution.
Dr. Rathburn has taken students on numerous research voyages, where they actively participate in all aspects of science (recently, during a month-long voyage off the coast of Greenland). His grants also funded several student summer research internships. Dr. Rathburn is honored to receive the 2026-2027 Faculty Scholarship and Creative Activity Award.
Millie Ablin Excellence in Teaching Award
The Millie Ablin Excellence in Teaching Award was established to recognize excellence in teaching. Each year, one distinguished faculty member at CSUB is honored for the contributions made to their students, to their academic disciplines, and to their campus communities.
Alem Kebede, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology
Throughout Dr. Alem Kebede's more than 25 years of teaching at CSUB, he has sought to cultivate in students what C. Wright Mills called “sociological imagination,” the capacity to connect micro-experiences to broader historical and global forces. Dr. Kebede’s teaching has been guided by the conviction that sociology is not a canon to be memorized but a living intellectual toolbox for understanding the social world. This pedagogical commitment has been accompanied by modest scholarly engagement. Dr. Kebede’s research has explored questions of social movements, culture, and power. Among Dr. Kebede’s contributions is the concept of “decentered movements,” designed to understand collective action less reliant on formal organizations. Through interconnected pursuits of teaching, scholarship, and mentorship, Dr. Kebede has endeavored to advance sociology as both an intellectual discipline and an instrument of cultivating informed and engaged citizens.
Dr. Kebede is honored to receive the 2026–2027 Millie Ablin Excellence in Teaching Award.
“Teaching is the art of demystification, the process of helping students overcome bad faith and discovering that the social world is neither inevitable nor unfathomable, but a human construct open to understanding and change." – Dr. Alem Kebede
